Tata Aria : Test Drive & Review

This is a discussion on Tata Aria : Test Drive & Review within Official New Car Reviews, part of the Team-BHP Reviews category; Originally Posted by GTO
Tata has always had A+ paint jobs. Even the one on the Nano is great for ...

Amongst the masses as an individual at this price point I would never indulge in Aria. as what I want to ask is " A White Colored TATA Aria in political arena" would there be mass number of buyers ? I am sure politicians can never be a target market for any car manufacturer. I am asking this question just out of curiosity as i see more numbers White safari's , Scorpio's, Fortuner's but less number of Captiva's, Endeavor's and CRV's in an around my Village in Maharashtra. Does Brand perception persist here or it is if one buys another follows the suit ?

If anything, the Fortuner made other 20 lakh SUVs look overpriced (precisely why the others corrected their MRP overnight). Not to say the Fortuner's perfect...it desperately needs rear disc brakes, USB / AUX and telescopic steering to make the package complete.

I don't think I agree with this one. I feel the Fortuner is also horrendously overpriced. If anything (and I think you'll agree with me when I say this), the 3.0 litre Endy Auto took the fight to the Fortuner....and won.

Its really a shame the way manufacturers take us for a ride. Riding on the same platform as the Innova, what does the Fortuner have to justify that price tag? A 3.0 litre engine, a 4x4 transfer case with the associated stuff that comes with it, anything else? Anything to justify the price differential? I don't see any.

And now, Hyundai is looking at the Fortuner's pricing, factoring in the fact that the Santa Fe will be a CBU & fixing its price in X Trail territory.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IronWolf

I dont see any other reason to shell out so much for a New product from Tata. Would you not rather put down the money for a more reliable Toyota?

Depends. The Aria doesn't suit my requirements. But, the Fortuner doesn't do it for me either - I find it ridiculously overpriced.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IronWolf

A Xylo owner asked a Mahindra dealer aren't you worried about the new Aria. He said at that pricing its no competition to the Xylo.

Why on earth should he be worried, the Aria is not even aimed at the Xylo?

as what I want to ask is " A White Colored TATA Aria in political arena" would there be mass number of buyers ? I am sure politicians can never be a target market for any car manufacturer. I am asking this question just out of curiosity as i see more numbers White safari's , Scorpio's, Fortuner's but less number of Captiva's, Endeavor's and CRV's in an around my Village in Maharashtra. Does Brand perception persist here or it is if one buys another follows the suit ?

What I feel is that politicians look for muscular looking vehicles(probably to show their strength ) and from popular brands synonymous with the masses. The vehicles you've mentioned satisfy these two characteristics.

Though CRV and the Captiva to me could be perceived to be more exclusive vehicles.

Actually, I've seen some of the property builder and political fraternity move around in Endeavours but the overall visibility is very limited to be honest. I've not actually seen them in Fortuners so I cannot comment on that.

Personally, I think the Aria is more overpriced. The Fortuner provided the best package amongst 20 lakh SUVs, while Toyota - despite its brand - priced it cheaper than the Pajero, Captiva etc. If anything, the Fortuner made other 20 lakh SUVs look overpriced (precisely why the others corrected their MRP overnight). Not to say the Fortuner's perfect...it desperately needs rear disc brakes, USB / AUX and telescopic steering to make the package complete.

OT, talking about fortuner
But I cant get it off my mind that in markets were both innova and fortuner is sold, the difference between prices for both is under Rs. 1 Lakh. And the lack of rear disc brakes, ESP(offered in other markets) etc. Somehow I may never buy a fortuner.
As I said in one of my previous post I do agree Aria is on an expensive side.
But fortuner is DEFINITELY OVERPRICED which ever way you look at it.

Going by Safari experience I can say Aria customers will get Royal treatment at T.A.S.S so judging by what others get at T.A.S.S may not be correct

Is this the case everywhere? From all the TASC I have seen in the last two-and-a-half years in Delhi NCR, I have always felt there is no difference in the way an Indica DLE owner is treated and a Safari VX owner is treated. In any case, 80% of Safaris come to the TASC with their drivers, not owners. I believe the Aria could have a similar situation.

The other Safari owners like Suman may comment on this.

IMO, Tata is a long way off from providing really premium service experience to anyone, because ultimately the Service Advisor and Mechanics will be the same, and so will be their diagnostic skills.

The treatment meted out to one at an ASC is also dependant on one's relationship with them and customer's attitude. I always feel I get better treatment than a regular Safari Owner at my FTASC.

Personally, I think the Aria is more overpriced. The Fortuner provided the best package amongst 20 lakh SUVs, while Toyota - despite its brand - priced it cheaper than the Pajero, Captiva etc. If anything, the Fortuner made other 20 lakh SUVs look overpriced (precisely why the others corrected their MRP overnight).

I totally agree with GTO, In my opinion, this is a strategy adopted by Toyota in India, price the vehicles cheaper than competitors in the target segment. By doing this, others will be forced to reduce their price, which will affect their bottomline. Toyota can afford to do this, as they sell limited nos in India, and the loss in India is a drop in the sea for Toyota, but consider the impact of this on competitors? Same can be expected with Etios also. Why Toyota is not investing heavily to expand the capacity, if there is so much demand? Waiting period, over 6 months for Fortuner, why they are not increasing the price? It is all part of their strategy. Kill the enemy first then think about ruling the kingdom. If you ask me personally, considering duty etc, both Fortuner and Innova are underpriced, than overprised. But one factor favours Toyota is, It sells the same vehicle platform in many countries in different names, and hence the development cost for India specific vehicles is less, unlike the Indian manufacturers who exports in very limited quantity.

Personally, I think the Aria is more overpriced. The Fortuner provided the best package amongst 20 lakh SUVs

GTO, I don't quite see why at all the Aria should ever be compared to a Fortuner, as is being frequently done. They are as different categories of vehicle as chalk and cheese. To say that both are all-wheel-drive (AWD) vehicles and therefore comparable, is like saying that anything living that walks on two feet is human. Does one compare the Xylo with the Cruze, though Xylo's pre-launch ads said it is the end of the road for all sedans?

There is a serious misconception in the minds of the car-buying public in India, a strong belief, that all 4WD vehicles are built the same and perform the same. So CR-Vs and Captivas are driven off-road and Endeavours used to drag race on highways. I was hoping to clear this specific misconception through this thread (Driving all four wheels: how is it done?), and I really hope people take notice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

...one cannot try and retro fit ABS, EBD, Airbags, ESP, Traction Control etc etc etc in a vehicle NOT designed to have these things however much money one may have or wish to spend.

ABS, EBD, ESP and TC are useful features in any vehicle, and the Aria is the first sub-25-lakh-rupee vehicle on Indian roads to host these features together. Kudos to Tata for that. But that does not take away form the fact that the Borg Warner "Torque on Demand" AWD that's installed in the Aria is utterly unnecessary and just adds to cost, weight, complexity and crowding at the service centres. Tata themselves silently acknowledge the fact by providing a switch to change over to 4x2, but no switch to turn off ESP, which every enthusiastic driver would love to do once in a while (is it lack of trust in the customer or the vehicle? Are Aria's dynamics SO bad as to merit full-time electronic surveillance to prevent it from toppling, skidding, oversteering or spinning?) But IF (and there's no confirmation from TML's side about it yet) keeping the vehicle in 4x2 mode achieves even 0.5km/l of additional FE, would that ever induce even 10% of owners to run it in AWD mode like it's meant to be?

As far as my personal opinion goes, AWD on the Aria in India is overkill, utterly useless, and a version with 4x2 (but with ABS, EBD, ESP & TC as standard features across the range) with a 1.5-2L (or even 2.5L) INR lower price tag would go a long way to make the car successful.